Early look at 2008 Arctic sea ice levelshttp://apocadocs.com/s.pl?1206227060
In December a scientist on an icebreaker there described it as "styrofoam in a bath tub."
The big unknown is whether atmospheric conditions (reduced cloudiness and increased air temps) will aid the melting as they did in 2007. If they do, expect a big melt beyond last year's. I hesitate to say that a complete loss is possible, but based on the present conditions we could well see the main pack split in two for the first time.